Good eye!!
I must have forgotten to crimp it at all.
I'll have to take care of that tomorrow.
Thanks!!!
Best Way to Receive Whole Ku Arc With Fixed Dishes?
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Good eye!!
I must have forgotten to crimp it at all.
I'll have to take care of that tomorrow.
Thanks!!!
Just an update on progress.
I got 87W setup yesterday using my Pinnacle dish. I tried it first with a MA/Com C-Band only ortho-mode I had on hand here. Couldn't get the right focal length with it and the F/D was all wrong. Came inside and was only getting the RTNs on 3800 at 74% SQ using my Diamond 9000HD. Picture was fine, but I knew the dish could do better.
I swapped out the MA/Com with a C2 today and set the focal length properly and F/D and now am getting 81% SQ on those RTN channels.
I finished putting the Unimesh together today and aimed it at 103W, put the MA/Com on it, and have the ION channels at 99% SQ.
It is amazing how much difference it makes when you have the correct feed on the right dish. F/D on the Pinnacle is .275 and the F/D on the Unimesh is .40. The two different feeds are now on the correct dishes to match the F/D ratios.
My roof is now starting to look like a toaster grid with all the cables running across it
Big chance of rain tomorrow and Thursday, will work when I can and update the thread.
Sorry no pics for today.
I got 87W setup yesterday using my Pinnacle dish. I tried it first with a MA/Com C-Band only ortho-mode I had on hand here. Couldn't get the right focal length with it and the F/D was all wrong. Came inside and was only getting the RTNs on 3800 at 74% SQ using my Diamond 9000HD. Picture was fine, but I knew the dish could do better.
I swapped out the MA/Com with a C2 today and set the focal length properly and F/D and now am getting 81% SQ on those RTN channels.
I finished putting the Unimesh together today and aimed it at 103W, put the MA/Com on it, and have the ION channels at 99% SQ.
It is amazing how much difference it makes when you have the correct feed on the right dish. F/D on the Pinnacle is .275 and the F/D on the Unimesh is .40. The two different feeds are now on the correct dishes to match the F/D ratios.
My roof is now starting to look like a toaster grid with all the cables running across it
Big chance of rain tomorrow and Thursday, will work when I can and update the thread.
Sorry no pics for today.
What brand of coax are you using? I never saw gray colored coax like that. It looks like high quality stuff.
The coax is branded "Pro Gear Wire and Cable", and I get it locally from Skywalker. It is solid copper core and swept tested to 3Ghz.
I have bought a few spools over the last 3 years and it has worked pretty well for me. All of the runs from the parking lot are around 200 feet by the time they get to the receiver, through all the switches and grounding blocks and still excellent signal through it, so I think it must be pretty good stuff. It comes in other colors, and I like black, but I get whatever is available when I order.
Rained here most of the day, and when it wasn't I didn't want to get on the roof with the sky like it is.Iceberg said:
Hopefully will get some more done tomorrow and I will shoot more pictures.
check out thelist at the top of the page. It has the 24/7 channels up there
or Global's list is pretty good too
global-cm.net/MPEGlistKuBandUS.html
or Global's list is pretty good too
global-cm.net/MPEGlistKuBandUS.html
I was reading through past replies to this thread and seen the picture where you ask "something like this?) it was of a PS dish and it told that he had it set up for 148 123 119 110. Is that possible? If so, is it possible because they are dss birds? stronger signal. I have a 1.2 set on 97 & 101 and would love to think I could add more to it and get 123. Do you think that is to far apart?
110°, 119°, and 148° work because they are high powered satellites.
The one FSS LNB on that dish is mounted at the correct focal point.
All the other LNBs are off center.
I suspect 123° is too far away.
And with 125° just next door, the adjustment would be even more critical.
As for your other question about multiple LNBs at close spacing...
See the AMC 21 thread, pages 4 & 5, for a complete discussion of the question.
NotMe546 said:
I guess he doesn't want too.
Sorry I hadn't responded yet. I read your question, didn't have time to respond then, and when I responded yesterday to others, totally forgot about your question.
So anyway, currently with this project, so far I have non-moving dishes/lnbfs pointed at:
129W Ku,
127W C-Band,
125W Ku,
123W Ku,
121W C-Band,
107.3W C-Band,
103W C-Band,
101W Ku,
97W Ku,
91W C-Band/Ku
87W C-Band.
As Iceberg said, you can check "The List" above to see the actual channels I am getting on these satellites alone, and I have several more to go.
As far as your underlying question about whether FTA is worth it or not, think about the time, money, and resources I have wrapped up in this project already, and I have a little over half yet to finish.
That should answer your question as to whether it is worth getting into this hobby.
I spent 6 hours on the roof last Thursday just catching up on the wiring for the other two receivers and changing out my Corotor for a Bulls-eye II feed-horn I had here waiting to be used.
I then hooked up the DMSI switches I wrote about in the review section which didn't work. Haven't made any further progress because of preparation for a social event at our house over the weekend, and clean up today.
I did get caught up on some pictures just for Iceberg.
I hope to get back to it tomorrow. Here are the pics:
I then hooked up the DMSI switches I wrote about in the review section which didn't work. Haven't made any further progress because of preparation for a social event at our house over the weekend, and clean up today.
I did get caught up on some pictures just for Iceberg.
I hope to get back to it tomorrow. Here are the pics:
:
I worked Tuesday setting up 99W on my 7.5 foot Perfect 10 dish, and today I got 95W finished on my 10 foot Perfect 10 dish. Everything is all wired in for my current 3 receivers. Got my Digi-Wave switches in to replace the DMSI's that I wrote about in the review above. Hooked up the Digi-Waves and all was well, so it was definitely the DMSI switches that wouldn't work.
Signals are all booming in fine on 95W with the Equity channels at 90% SQ On 99W, the Caribbean channels are at 99% SQ, so I couldn't ask for more.
The C-Band part is finished. Just have a few Ku dishes to setup, and I will be finished with this project. It is coming along very nicely. I popped the channel list out of my Diamond into the family Diamond so they can begin enjoying the show.
I have several categories setup for both receivers, so they can choose the category and just flip through the channels until they find what they want. The dishes never move, and I fine tuned the frequencies on the slow channels until they all change almost instantly.
It is very nice already. I can even let the Coolsat 5000 scan 4 satellites at a time now without missing a beat.
I hope to have more pictures tomorrow and some more ku dishes setup by then too.
Signals are all booming in fine on 95W with the Equity channels at 90% SQ On 99W, the Caribbean channels are at 99% SQ, so I couldn't ask for more.
The C-Band part is finished. Just have a few Ku dishes to setup, and I will be finished with this project. It is coming along very nicely. I popped the channel list out of my Diamond into the family Diamond so they can begin enjoying the show.
I have several categories setup for both receivers, so they can choose the category and just flip through the channels until they find what they want. The dishes never move, and I fine tuned the frequencies on the slow channels until they all change almost instantly.
It is very nice already. I can even let the Coolsat 5000 scan 4 satellites at a time now without missing a beat.
I hope to have more pictures tomorrow and some more ku dishes setup by then too.
Continued working on the Ku part of this project again yesterday. Got up early and worked until my Linux group arrived, so finished up this part today.
Then took my camera back up this afternoon only to discover that my wife had used it yesterday and I only had room for a very few pictures.
Got 89W, 83W, 74W and 30W all setup and wired into the building and all are working fine. Supposed to rain the next few days, but I can see the end in sight.
Just a couple or three dishes to go and the project will be finished.
As if anything is ever finished.
Here are today's pics:
Then took my camera back up this afternoon only to discover that my wife had used it yesterday and I only had room for a very few pictures.
Got 89W, 83W, 74W and 30W all setup and wired into the building and all are working fine. Supposed to rain the next few days, but I can see the end in sight.
Just a couple or three dishes to go and the project will be finished.
As if anything is ever finished.
Here are today's pics:
Just a couple or three dishes to go and the project will be finished.
As if anything is ever finished.
That last line sure is the truth, many a time I've thought: "there, that's it", but then it's not too long until I think of some other re-arrangement, refinement, or addition to "improve" things!
Looking at the photos of your roof, with all the loose coax you have, I'm sure you definitely have to walk very carefully while up there, or a coax line might snare you and send you off the roof! I know from experience that on the ground I've nearly killed myself/equipment when a coax line or extension cord has reached out to grab my foot!
zipties can be your friend
Wouldn't help in my case, it's usually the coax line I drag out of the basement to connect to the portable TV, or the bright orange extension cord. All the coax from the dishes are nailed to the wall where I can't insert a foot!
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